


Shards of Broken Glass

by MonPetitTresor



Series: Daddy Dom Gabriel and Little Sam [12]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arguing, Big Brother Dean, Brotherly Love, Hurt Sammy, Little Sam, M/M, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Age Play, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery, Scared Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-09 03:29:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7784995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonPetitTresor/pseuds/MonPetitTresor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Sam's world is broken apart, it's going to take more than just his Daddy to help him piece it back together. Especially when Sam seems to be refusing to even admit that there's anything wrong. Will Dean be able to accept his brother and help him fit back together? Or will this be just one thing too many for the older Winchester to be able to understand?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Sam woke up he expected it to be to the same sensation of pain that had been there each time he'd passed out and woken up before. Only, to his surprise, there was no pain. None whatsoever. He woke up feeling safe and swaddled and protected in a way he only ever did in one place. Sam squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to let any sound cross past his lips. This – it had to be some kind of dream. This couldn't be real. He had to be dreaming it. His mind must've conjured up the safest place for him to protect him against the pain of the real world. Sam wasn't going to do anything to dispel that image. He didn't want to be back in that barn, held up and tortured as they tried to prepare him for Lucifer. He didn't want to have to think about what might lay ahead.

Right now he just wanted to imagine that he really was home, that he was really in bed and in Gabriel's arms, safe and sound from anything and everything bad that might come his way.

Gabriel would protect him. Gabriel always protected him. He kept Sam safe from all the bad things and didn’t let them hurt him. And if something did get him, Gabriel took care of it, and then he took care of Sam. He was the best boyfriend and Daddy a person could ever ask for. Sam wanted to stay here with him in this fantasy forever.

A warm hand pressed against Sam's back and pulled him in even closer until Sam could get his face into that little spot in Gabriel’s neck where he always liked to hide. It felt so, so real!

“Shh.” Gabriel's voice was a soft whisper right by Sam's ear. For a second the little boy didn't understand why he was being shushed – then he realized that the weird whining sound he was hearing was coming from him. He tried to stop it, only to have it come out even more. Gabriel rubbed his hand over Sam's back in response. “Shh, baby boy, I'm right here. I got you. You're safe here with me now. You're safe.”

No, he wasn't. He wasn't safe. He was back in that bad place with those demons and they were going to, to use him to bring back Lucifer. To bring out Sam's greatest nightmare. And they were going to torture him until he said yes.

“Oh, Sammy.” This time Gabriel sounded sad, and Sam hated that. Hated hearing his Daddy sound that way.

All of a sudden the warm wash of grace ran through Sam's body. The little boy went completely still at the first brush of it. This... this wasn't fake. This was real. There was no way his subconscious was good enough to create an image of this. Nothing could recreate the way it felt to have Gabriel's grace in him.

If the grace was real, then that meant... that meant that Gabriel was real. He was real and this, all of this, it wasn't Sam's imagination. It was real! He was home. He was safe.

Sam's hands tightened in Gabriel's shirt and he lunged forward before he could even stop to think about what he was doing. Gabriel didn't mind, though. He caught Sam up easily and let the bigger man drape himself completely over Gabriel's body. Arms curled around him, one hand still on his back and the other coming up to thread into his hair. They held Sam safe and close against him. “That's right, Sammy. It's me. I've got you here.”

“Y-You s-s-saved me.” The words came out a stammering mess, yet they were clear enough for Gabriel to understand and that was all that mattered. His Daddy always seemed to be able to understand him.

Gabriel gave him a small squeeze. “I'll always save you, munchkin. No matter what.”

“I d-d-didn't...” A shudder ran down Sam and he pressed himself in against Gabriel. The hunter in him wanted to curl up and hide somewhere alone until he got himself under control. That part of him always insisted that he show no weakness just like he'd been taught. But the little boy that Gabriel had helped to nurture and grow had a very different response. Here in the safety of their home, their bed, that little boy had no shame in his weakness and no fear of speaking. Here, it was safe to speak, to feel, and that was just what he did, tightening himself around Gabriel like some sort of monkey even as the first sob tore its way free. “I was s-s-s-scared!”

The hold around Sam tightened in a way that would've scared him from anyone else. From his Daddy it made Sam feel even more safe.

"You're safe now, baby boy." Gabriel promised him. The words were fierce and held a note of power that Gabe them an extra weight. "You're here with me and I won't let anyone touch you. You're safe now."

It was everything Sam wanted to hear and just the right words to break past the little control he had left. Before he knew it he was sobbing out the fear that had gripped him from the first instant those demons had attacked. His whole body shook with the force of his crying but not once did Gabriel let go. He kept Sam safely in his arms and held him through the storm. He didn't tell him to hush or calm down - didn't push him away or leave him there. Instead his Daddy held him and whispered reassuring words over and over, reminding Sam that he was there and that they were safe.

Sam had no idea why this was hitting him so hard. It wasn’t like it was the first time he’d ever been kidnapped and tortured. Sure, it’d been a pretty serious torture this time, screwing him up pretty badly – and yeah, they’d hit on his biggest fear, trying to bring Lucifer back. But this wasn’t the first time that Sam had ever been hurt this way and it wasn’t going to be the last. Things like this were part of the job. They just sort of came with the territory. In the past, he’d always just been bandaged up, medicated and potentially liquored up, and then they’d just moved on with their lives. There’d never been – _this_. Even if Sam _had_ panicked it’d always been in the privacy of his shower or something like that and it had _never_ been with this kind of terror. So why was this hitting him so hard?

He had no idea, and at the moment he wasn’t sure he had the ability to even begin to figure out why.

By the time the tears finally stopped and the sobs faded away to just little hiccups, he was still being held in Gabriel’s arms, still being whispered to. The archangel kept him close and stroked a hand soothingly over Sam’s back as he let the little boy settle. Only when it was obvious that Sam wasn’t going to start again did Gabriel finally speak. “Feel a little better, sweetheart?”

Sam wanted to shake his head no; just barely did he manage to turn it into a shrug instead. He wasn’t _better_ really, but he wasn’t on that razor edge of panic anymore.

The low humming sound that Gabriel made wasn’t an agreement or a disagreement. He brought his hand up to card through Sam’s hair, coming down to brush over his wet cheek. “Why don’t we go ahead and get you cleaned up, hm? I bet that’ll help. We can wash your face, get you your favorite jammies, even go an grab Taffy. How’s that sound, munchkin?”

That – that sounded heavenly. Sam wanted nothing more than to just curl up with Gabriel and pretend for a while that this didn’t exist. That there wasn’t something waiting out there to hurt him. He’d be safe here, he knew. His Daddy would protect him. There was no need to be a hunter right now. Here, with Gabriel, it was safe for Sam to just be _Sammy_ for a little while.

But Sam knew he couldn’t. Not when there was a very real threat out there. There wasn’t time to indulge in his need to be little at the moment. He had to suck it up and grow up. Be a man. “I c-can’t.” He hated the stammer, hated how small it made him sound, but he couldn’t stop it. “W-We gotta, _I_ gotta…”

A finger pressed against his lips stopped him from continuing. When the hand on his face shifted and tilted his head up, he found Gabriel watching him with that warm and kind look only his Daddy gave him, the one that was so full of understanding and love it left Sam feeling like he could do nothing wrong.

Once Gabriel was sure Sam wouldn’t speak, he moved his hand to cup the side of his little boy’s face. “You don’t need to do anything right now, Sammy. The demons are taken care of, and so long as we’ve got you here with me, nothing can get you, which means they can’t do anything else. There’s plenty of time for us to figure out what’s going on and make our plans, I promise. Just trust me to take care of you right now, okay?”

It would be so easy to give in. Sam wanted to – he really did. But… “De?”

“Is with Uncle Cassie right now.” Gabriel answered immediately. His hand smoothed Sam’s hair back from his face. “He knows you’re safe and that you’re with me. Everybody’s okay, baby. I promise.”

Some of the weight on Sam’s shoulders melted away at that. He let his eyes drift closed and his body slump down into Gabriel’s. The demons were taken care of, Dean was safe – Castiel was with him – and Gabriel was here with Sam. They were all alive and okay. Right now, that was what was important. The rest of it could be handled later. For now, he had his Daddy right here, _wanting_ to take care of him, and Sam selfishly wanted nothing more than to just soak it all up.

He would make himself deal with this soon enough. Just, for a minute at least, he wanted to lay here and let Gabriel take care of him. Just for a little bit. Then – then he’d deal with things.

For now, he was right where he wanted to be.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Gabriel got Sam calmed down and relaxed – or as relaxed as he was really going to get him right now, all things considered – the archangel set about making good on his promise to clean Sam up and take care of him.

First order of business was getting Sam cleaned up. Despite the fact that he was already completely and totally clean, thanks to the grace Gabriel had used to clean him earlier, he still gathered Sam up in his arms and carried him into the bathroom for a bath. This was more psychological than anything else. He knew enough of the human psyche to know that Sam, even as a little, would be feeling dirty. His Sammy felt dirty far too often for Gabriel’s comfort, and usually over things that weren’t his fault. Bad cases where they had to do things that didn’t always feel good, or when they had a life they couldn’t save, Sam would come back to the motel and need to shower to wash all it off him. Nightmares of the Cage usually left him feeling the need to be extra clean the next day. Two, sometimes three showers, plenty of hand washing. Sometimes Gabriel could coax him back from it before he scrubbed himself raw. A bit of cuddle time, some grace, and the feel of his wings around them, and he could make Sam feel safe and clean for a little while.

Today, that wasn’t what was needed though. Grace and wings weren’t what would make Sam feel better. So Gabriel took his Sammy to the bathroom and made sure, with a quick snap, that the tub was already full of nice warm water. Not as hot as big Sam liked it, but still pretty warm. Enough to help keep away the chill that thinking of Lucifer always brought.

“Here we go, munchkin.” Gabriel sat down on the close toilet seat and settled Sam down on his lap. With easy, practiced movements he slipped Sam’s clothes off him. It took a little bit of maneuvering to get Sam’s shirt off when the boy didn’t want to let go of Gabriel long enough for it to happen. With a bit of gentle coaxing and a firm voice, he finally managed it, and then he slipped Sam down into the water. Sam didn’t say anything, but Gabriel heard the soft sigh and he could see the change to the energy around Sam as his boy slipped a little deeper into his headspace.

Normally, that would be okay. Today, it only made Gabriel’s concern grow.

He’d expected a fight of some sort from Sam. He’d thought for sure that the hunter would balk more at being taken care of. That he might try and play the hunter too much, or that he might try and act like he was fine. The fact that it hadn’t taken much to convince Sam to go down into his headspace worried Gabriel more than it reassured him.

Honestly, _everything_ about Sam worried Gabriel from the moment the little boy woke up. From the way that Sam had broken down to the way that he’d tried to make himself suck it up and be the hunter he thought he had to be. Or the way that he’d so easily acquiesced to letting Gabriel take care of him. All of it told Gabriel that the boy was doing what he always did and pushing things down _deep_. Sure, he’d broken down, letting out his initial pain and fear, but he’d quickly bottled it up afterwards. Sam was the type of kid to give himself one outlet, _maybe_ , and then to try and force himself to move on with it and try to keep up a good front for the people around him. That apparently translated over to the kid version of him as well. It didn’t help Gabriel’s mood any to realize that Sam had probably been taught to be like this from an extremely young age.

This wasn’t going to be easy. Gabriel couldn’t let him suppress it like this – that was dangerous. But he couldn’t force him either. He was going to have to poke and prod and coax it all out of him until Sam couldn’t hide from it anymore.

First things first, though, he had a job to do, and he was going to do it well.

His hands were gentle as they washed every inch of Sam’s body. Sam let him, not really saying anything as Gabriel worked. He didn’t even prod for the stories he usually loved to hear during his bath time. There were no stories, no playing, no singing, no splashing. Nothing that usually happened during their bath time. Sam just sat quietly and let Gabriel clean him up. The only time he made a sound was when he gave a happy little sigh as Gabriel cleaned his hair. To try and counter that silence, and to keep Sam from sinking down into his head – a dangerous thing, that – Gabriel kept up a steady stream of his own words that were really nothing more than a running commentary on what he was doing. “All right, Sammy, there we go. Let’s get your hair clean now. I know how much you like that… just close your eyes for me for a minute, munchkin. Gotta get your hair wet down…”

Gabriel finished getting Sam all cleaned up and then gathered his boy up in the large warm towels he kept in here just for Sam. They were big enough for him and soft enough that Sam usually liked to rub up against them. He’d pull up the edge and rub it over his cheek and look so happy doing it.

When he was sure Sam was dry, he carried him towel and all out to the bed. “All right, baby boy. Let’s get you dressed, hm?”

For a moment Gabriel looked down at his boy and debated. Then he went ahead and snapped his fingers and called up the things he needed. It said quite a lot that Sam didn’t even protest it when Gabriel laid him down and pulled out the diapering items from the bag he’d snapped to him. It was on mostly as a precaution, though it’d also serve to help remind Sam that it was okay to be little, that he didn’t have to be big right now. That he was safe and protected and Gabriel was here to take care of him.

“Once we get you dressed, I thought we could go out and find us some breakfast.” Gabriel suggested as he got Sam into the diaper. “Anything you want, sweetheart. Whatever sounds good. We can have some breakfast, maybe watch a movie. How’s that sound?”

Sam chewed on his bottom lip and Gabriel had to fight to keep from reaching up there to stop him. At least while he was putting the diaper on. Once he had the diaper on and Sam dressed in his softest pair of hooded footie pajamas, covered in paw prints, Gabriel finally gave in and used his thumb to pull Sam’s lip from between his teeth. If he didn’t the boy would bite it till it bled. Then he curled his hand to cup Sam’s cheek. “Sammy, sweetheart. I need you to talk to me. You’re worrying me a little here, munchkin. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you so quiet before. You’re usually talking my ear off.” The last bit was said with a smile he’d hoped would tease one out of Sam.

Instead, Sam made as if to bite his lip again, just barely stopping himself. “S-Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s a Daddy’s job to worry about their little boy and take care of them.” Pushing his hand up, he smoothed back some of Sam’s still damp hair and pressed just enough to make Sam’s head tilt up towards him. Once those hazel eyes were on him, Gabriel smiled gently. “I know you’re upset and I know you’re scared, but I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours, kiddo?”

“D-Don’ wanna.” Sam said softly.

 “Why not?”

Sam ducked down, dropping his eyes away from Gabriel. “C-Cause you’ll b-be m-mad.”

The stammering threw Gabriel a little. He’d heard Sam stammer before, usually after a bad nightmare or when he was really scared, but he’d always attributed it to either how cold Sam was – nightmares made him feel like he was in the artic sometimes – or to how much crying he’d done. Maybe it wasn’t that, though. Maybe it was just a scared-Sammy kind of thing.

His words, however, surprised the archangel even more. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but that hadn’t been it. “Why do you think I’ll be mad, Sammy?”

Sam’s head lowered even more and his voice dropped to a soft whisper only Gabriel’s angelic hearing let him catch. “C-Cause I wa-was bad and st-st-stupid.”

“Hey.” Once more dropping his hand down to Sam’s face, he nudged Sam’s chin up until his boy was forced to look at him, unable to hide. “You are _not_ stupid and I don’t want to hear you call yourself that again.”

“I _w-was_.” Sam argued, a hint of his inner stubbornness coming out to play, and even though it was on something like this it still warmed Gabriel to see a hint of his Sammy shining through. Then the boy kept talking and Gabriel ached even more than he had before. “I g-got mad at De an, an I l-left, an I didn’ even ta-take my phone w-with m-m-me like I’m ‘posed to, an, an now De’s m-mad an he _k-k-knows_ , D-Daddy, _he knows_ …” The rest of his sentence trailed off on a little whimper that had Gabriel doing the only thing he could do – he pulled Sam in close, glad that he was still standing beside the bed while Sam was sitting because it made it easier for Sam to curl up against him and hide for just a moment.

Dammit. Oh Dad _dammit_. He hadn’t been sure how much Sam remembered of what happened at the end there. He’d been so sure that Sam was too out of it to really know and that maybe, just maybe Gabriel would be lucky enough to heal Sam up a little before they had to have the talk about Dean. But he should’ve known better. Luck for the Winchesters didn’t work like that. Sam, the smart little shit that he was, had probably been thinking about it through his whole bath. It’d explain why he’d been so quiet. He’d been _remembering_. Remembering what he could of the end – remembering what had been revealed in front of Dean.

“Shh, Sammy. Shh.” Gabriel curled his arms a little tighter around Sam and rocked him ever so slightly. “It’s okay, baby boy. It’s all right.”

“He’s g-g-gonna _hate_ m-me…” Sam whimpered against Gabriel’s chest.

“No, he won’t.” That was a firm declaration. There was no way Gabriel was going to let Sam believe that for even a second. “He doesn’t hate you, Sammy, and he’s not going to.”

“How d-d-do you k-know?”

Taking a deep breath, Gabriel closed his eyes. “Because I talked to him last night.” There was no sign of Gabriel’s nerves in his voice. This could go very badly, he knew. Sam could be furious with him. But he’d done what he’d had to. “After you were asleep, I talked with Dean and Uncle Cassie. Your brother already heard you calling me Daddy and he knew something was going on, so I explained it all to him. He’s worried about you but he’s not mad. I swear, baby boy. He loves you, no matter what.”

Gabriel had been worried about how Sam would react to finding out that Gabriel had talked to Dean about this – what he hadn’t counted on was how strong Sam’s panic was at the idea of losing Dean. The little boy didn’t even flinch over hearing what Gabriel had done. He just shook his head and burrowed in a little closer.

Though Gabriel didn’t try to read Sam’s thoughts all that often, especially in these harder moments when he didn’t want to make the boy feel even more violated or feel like he couldn’t trust his Daddy, right now it was hard not to pick up on his stream of thoughts. All Sam was thinking about right now was how sure he was that Dean was going to hate him for this and throw him out of his life. How he’d never get to see his brother ever again because of this.

Whatever words Gabriel had to say weren’t going to be enough here. Ever since they’d started this thing between them, Gabriel had done everything he could to be there for Sam. To be what he needed when he needed it. Others might not understand that kind of existence. They might see it as wrong or dysfunctional to be in a kind of relationship where you made yourself into something to make the other happy. For Gabriel, it was perfect. Being Sam’s partner and his Daddy was everything that the archangel could want.  But taking care of someone meant being able to know what you could and couldn’t give them as well as being big enough to be able to admit when you weren’t the thing they needed.

Right now, Gabriel knew that Sam needed his brother more than he needed anything else. He needed Dean here to reassure him that they were going to be okay. That his brother would always love him no matter what. And there was a part of him that Sam probably didn’t even realize existed right now that needed his brother here to be able to feel truly safe. Dean had always signified safety for him in one way or another. There was no way he was going to be able to fully relax and accept that he was okay after all this and that he was safe without his brother there.

It took no thought at all to come to the decision necessary here. Gabriel kept Sam cradled close and started to hum a lullaby while he reached out with his grace to his brother.

Castiel responded almost immediately. His worry was laced through his grace and was easy for Gabriel to feel the instant they connected. _Is everything all right? Is Samuel well?_

The honest concern in that question – the fact that Castiel was truly worried for _Sam_ as a person, not just as an extension of Dean – made Gabriel smile a little. Castiel had come a long way from the angel who had looked at Sam and seen only the boy with the demon blood. _He’s mostly okay right now, Cassie._ Gabriel sent back to his brother. Then, with a mental sigh, he changed his words around. _Well, not really. He’s panicking and he needs to have his brother around him. Do you think Dean-o’s calmed down enough to handle that? Can he handle dealing with a Little Sam right now?_ Because there was no way on Dad’s green earth that Gabriel was going to do anything that might damage his little boy. On a normal day Gabriel was protective of Sammy. Right now, after Sam had been so badly hurt and while he was still so scared? He wouldn’t let anyone do _anything_ to harm Sammy.

 _He is willing to try for Samuel’s sake_. Castiel sent back. _I will be there to help contain him, should any troubles arise. I will not allow any more harm to come to my nephew, either. I do not wish to see him hurt more than he has been._

Hearing Castiel refer to Sam as his nephew was enough to make Gabriel smile. He cuddled his boy a little closer and buried his smile against Sam’s hair. _He’s scared right now and he’s really fragile. He remembers calling me Daddy in front of Dean and he knows now that I told Dean everything. That, coupled with how much this scared him, well, he’s having a damn hard time._ _It’ll help him to have his family – all his family. You’re important to him too, Cassie. Just make sure that Deano understands that, to Sammy, we’re going to be Daddy and Uncle Cassie. I don’t need him reacting badly. He has the potential to cause a lot of damage to Sam here._

_While Dean may not understand or entirely approve of this, he is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his brother._

That was one area that Gabriel could respect Dean on. That boy was willing to do almost anything to take care of his brother. Gabriel had known it before – getting to know Little Sammy had only reaffirmed that belief. _Why don’t you gather up your charge and take him to your place? I’ll get Sammy as calm as I can and bring him over._ The only place that Gabriel felt safe taking his boy to right now outside of their warded home here was to the home he’d made for Castiel. It was just as warded and they’d all be safe there. Not that Gabriel couldn’t protect them all wherever they chose to be. The wards would just make _him_ feel a little better.

Once he got Castiel’s affirmation, Gabriel turned his full focus back to the trembling little boy that he held. Sam was shaking and trying very hard not to cry. It made Gabriel’s grace throb inside of him.

None of that worry or pain showed in his voice, though. He kept it low and sweet and easy as he spoke to Sammy. “Hey, sweetheart, I’ve got an idea.” He smoothed a hand over Sam’s hair and tilted his head a little to try and look at Sam’s face. He saw hazel eyes flick up at him and offered Sam a smile. “What say you we gather up Missy and go to Uncle Cassie’s house?”

He watched the hint of surprise cross Sam’s face. Tilting his head, Sam furrowed his brow, momentarily distracted by this bit of information. “Uncle Cassie’s house?”

“Yep. I made a place for him after everything so he could have somewhere to go when he needed alone time. It’s just as warded as this place, so it’s just as safe. I thought we could go over there for a bit and hang out with Uncle Cassie and Deano – if you want to.”

“D-De?” There was both a hopeful and a worried note to that single, stuttered word. It didn’t take a genius, or a mind reader, to realize just how desperately Sammy wanted to see his brother, or how terrified he was of seeing him.

Gabriel smoothed Sam’s hair back from his face. Then he brought his thumb up to tug at the lip that his little boy had pulled between his teeth. “Yeah, he’s there, an he really wants to see you. He’s worried about you, y’know? Wants to make sure you’re okay.”

The lip underneath Gabriel’s thumb tugged for a second like Sam wanted to draw it back in. He blinked a few times, hesitance bright in his eyes. Then he looked up at Gabriel. “You’ll c-come with me?”

Gabriel’s smile grew wide. “You better believe it. You’re stuck with me, munchkin. I’m not going anywhere without you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the update for "Daddy's Little Abomination" (If you haven't read that, you really really should, it's fantastic!) and it put me in the mood for little Sammy, so here you guys go! Little Sammy with some awesome Uncle Cassie feels up ahead :)

It took a little bit to get Sam calm enough to be able to leave the house. Before they went, Gabriel made sure to gather up a bag for him. A diaper bag, Sam had called it when Gabriel first brought it home, and the idea of one had embarrassed him at first. Gabriel had prepared for that reaction, though. He’d made sure to snap up a bag that looked more like a backpack. One that Gabriel could easily wear without really drawing that much attention but was also the right size to hold the things he’d take with them somewhere. Sippy cup, juice bottle, a change of clothes, a coloring book or two, a favorite toy, some Band-Aids, and some wet wipes. Really, he could snap up whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. But sometimes it was nice to just have it all packed and ready to go.

After making sure everything important was in there, Gabriel put the backpack on Sam instead of on himself. Then he surprised Sammy by turning his back to the kid. “All right, munchkin. Hop on.”

It only took a second for Sam to understand and then another second to start moving. He climbed right up onto Gabriel’s back, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Gabriel didn’t even grunt under the added weight. He caught Sam’s legs under the knees to help support him and smiled as long arms tried to cling to him without choking him. It felt good to have Sam on his back like this – and not in the dirty way he’d usually think that. Right now it made Gabriel feel good to hold him and to also have his hands free to defend them if need be. Sam was on his back, against him, safe with Gabriel’s wings flaring out on either side of him even if Sam couldn’t see them.

“All settled in back there?” Gabriel called back. He felt Sam’s nod and smiled. “All right then, little Hiccup. Let’s fly.”

The flight to Castiel’s took just a thought. The wards were set up to allow Sam and Gabriel entrance without even needing permission.

They landed in the middle of Castiel’s living room. A check before entering had let Gabriel know where to land. Castiel was the only one in the room and that was the way that Gabriel wanted it. It worked out _perfectly_ for his plan.

The seraph looked up from his spot on the couch at their arrival. There was something in his eyes that softened a little at the sight of Sam. A bit of tension that bled out of his wings and his grace. It wasn’t just Dean that had wanted to have Sam here and make sure that he was okay – Castiel had been feeling it too. They were a family, all of them, and their youngest had been hurt. All of them needed the reassurance of seeing him to make sure that he was okay.

Sam, however, took one look at Castiel and then burrowed in closer against Gabriel’s back, burying his face in his Daddy’s neck. His embarrassment was easy to feel, as was his shame. Both made Gabriel want to wrap him up tight and take him back home. Was this asking too much of Sam?

No. He needed this. Even if he was embarrassed at first, he still needed this. He needed to be with his family as much as they needed to be with him. Gabriel kept that in mind as he flashed a smile at his brother. “Hey, Cassie.”

“Brother.” Castiel greeted him solemnly. Then his eyes fleshed over to Sam, gentling again. “Samuel. I'm glad to see the both of you up and well.”

When Sam said nothing, Gabriel jiggled his leg a little. “Manners, Sammy. I know you've got them.”

“S-Sorry.” Sam whispered against Gabriel's hair. His whole didn't loosen but he did shift a little and Gabriel knew that Sam's eyes were most likely peeking up out of a fringe of hair now. “Hi Uncle C-Cass-sie.”

Gabriel made a split second decision as he stood there with his boy. With dean out of the room this was a perfect opportunity and one that he wasn't going to waste. The only issue was going to be getting Sam to agree with it. A brief touch of grace with Castiel had the seraph on his side. Now it was time to convince Sammy, before Dean came back in and ruined things completely.

It only took a few steps to move towards the couch where Castiel sat. Moving Sam took a little more effort. Gabriel had twist Sam forward, using a hand on his arm to pull the boy around and essentially slide Sam from his back to his hip. Sam wasn't all that willing to let go. He still clung on with arms and legs as he was moved around Gabriel. Normally, the archangel wouldn’t have dared to move him with Sam so obviously upset like this. Or he would've moved him only to better be able to hold him. Right now, though, he had to do something that was equally important. Something to help take care of Sam in the long run instead of just in the moment. Sam just wasn't going to like it.

“Hey, munchkin.” With one arm holding Sam in place - and a wing or two, out of sight - Gabriel used his other hand to reach up and smooth some of Sam's hair back before cupping the side of his face. He put on his best smile and hoped to hell the kid bought it. “I need you to do me a favor, okay?”

“W-What?”

“I need you to sit here with Uncle Cassie for a minute while I go grab your brother out of the kitchen. I promise, I'll be right back. I'm just gonna help him out and make sure he's got something in there for you to drink, too.”

Big Sam would've recognized the tactic for what it was and would've known that Gabriel was up to something. He would've realized that Gabriel could snap up anything they needed and that going to help out Dean was just an excuse. However, there was more Little than Big in Sam at the moment, even with the fear trying to push his big self forward before big brother got out here. Because of that, Sam didn't see the excuses for what they were. He did, however, focus on what was the most important bit - at least to him. Eyes wide, he chewed on his bottom lip. “Y-You're l-l-leaving?”

The fear in those words was painful to hear. Gabriel used his hold on Sam's face to pull the boy in until he could kiss his forehead. “Just to the kitchen, baby boy. I'll be back as fast as I can, an Uncle Cassie's gonna be here with you the whole time.”

“I d-don't...” Sam snuck a look over at Castiel and then back at Gabriel, his worries written all over his face.

 _Oh, baby boy_. Gabriel slid his fingers up into Sam's hair and scratched lightly at his scalp. “Hey - you're safe here. You hear me? You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you and no one's gonna judge you. You know you're safe with Uncle Cassie. He's good at taking care of you, right?”

Sam gave a small nod. “B-B-But, wha' about...?” Sam's eyes flicked down towards his waist and back up, making it clear what he meant.

“Even if he notices, he won't say a word, and I promise you that your brother won't notice. I can make sure of that. I told you when we first started those - that's between us, no one else. I got you, baby. I'll take care of you.”

With those gentle words, Gabriel was able to extract Sam from around him.

Castiel's hands were already reaching up for Sam even as Gabriel was starting to hand him down. It made the archangel's grace flare happily and glow with warmth as he watched how Castiel drew Sam right down into his lap without an ounce of hesitation. Black wings that no one else could see lifted up and immediately wrapped a protective barrier around the two. Sam was as safe as he could be outside of Gabriel's arms.

“There we are, little one.” Castiel's voice was a low murmur, pitched for Sam's ears alone, yet Gabriel's hearing caught it. He watched as Castiel removed the backpack the boy wore and then cradled Sam to him and shifted just enough so that Sam's bottom was more next to him than on him, allowing the giant of a boy to be comfortable tucking his head on Castiel's shoulder. The seraph ran one hand in a soothing stroke over Sam's bicep while the other arm was draped across Sam's lap and his fingers were curled into Sam's hip. “I've got you. I will let nothing happen to you. You are safe, little one. I will keep you safe until he returns.”

Tears pricked at the corners of Gabriel's vessel's eyes as he watched the way that Sam gave in and snuggled against Castiel. He'd known he'd made the right choice in bringing in Castiel to their life. This just proved it even more.

Gabriel carried that picture with him as he made his way towards the kitchen. With perfect timing, too. It looked like Dean was just finishing preparing two mugs of what smelled like coffee. A moment more and he would've been on his way out.

The sight of Gabriel had Dean jumping a little in surprise. His expression tightened briefly and his eyes widened before narrowing on him. Even his mouth showed his displeasure, lips pressing together into a thin line.

Gabriel stood still underneath the glare and let Dean get it out of his system. Gave him the moment to glare and to collect himself. When Dean was calm, it wasn't surprising that the first and only word he said was “Sammy?”

“Out with Uncle Cassie right now.” Gabriel deliberately used that title just to see how Dean would react. The little flinch he gave told Gabriel plenty. But so did the way that Dean quickly composed himself afterwards. The hunter wasn't happy with this, was still uncomfortable - but he was trying. That last part was the most important part of all.

“How is he?” Dean asked.

There were so many different ways that Gabriel could answer that. He opted for the word best suited in the moment. “Fragile.” That was a good way to describe him. Sam was very, very fragile at the moment. Stepping a bit further into the room, Gabriel waved his hand and made sure that there was no chance of anyone overhearing them. Then he leaned a hip against the counter and fixed his stare on Dean. “I know that Cassie talked to you, but I want to say a few things before we go in there.”

“I'm not gonna freak on him.” Dean said immediately. His hands tightened on the mugs he held and then deliberately relaxed. “I don't understand this an I don’t know if I like it or not, but I'm not gonna kick him while he's down.”

“I know you're not. Not intentionally.” Gabriel agreed. “But I need to make sure you understand just how important this morning is. Not just because this is what Sam needs – an trust me, bucko, he _needs_ this. But because how you act when you go out there is going to set the tone for how things go, an it’s gonna color how Sam looks at himself. You end up disgusted or pissed off with him for being little, he won’t forget it. Your opinion means more to him than anyone else’s and you’ve got the power to go out there and destroy this part of him so much he hides it deeper than he ever has before.”

Dean looked like he’d been struck. “I wouldn’t…”

“I’m not saying you will. I’m just saying…” Pausing, Gabriel sighed. “Be careful. Mentally, I wouldn’t put Sam above four or five right now. His age always varies on his needs and he’s hurt and scared as hell so he aged down to an age where he doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

“How long does he… how long does this whole thing last?”

Gabriel shrugged one shoulder. “Until he feels better. It’s not an exact science. This is based on Sam’s needs. I mean, I know a few tricks to really pull him out of his headspace if I have to, but I don’t like doing it and he doesn’t like it happening, either. Messes with his head and makes him a bit disoriented. I usually just let him ride it out until he’s ready to come back. That’s the healthiest thing for him.”

“What about the demons?” Dean asked.

In that moment, the anger that Gabriel always felt towards John grew a little more. Taking care of Sam, loving him – all parts of him – meant caring about Dean, too. You couldn’t have one without the other. The scars that Sam had inside, moments like these reminded Gabriel that Dean had them as well. That it wasn’t just Sam who’d been raised this way. Dean was hurt just as much, in his own way, and he needed to heal just as badly as Sam.

That reminder softened Gabriel’s tone into something a bit gentler; something that Dean had never heard from him before. “Don’t worry about them, big guy. I’ll tell you like I told Sammy – you two don’t need to worry about anything right now. The demons that took Sam are gone and no one else is getting their hands on him while he’s with me. We’ve got time to figure things out. Right now we know that they wanna raise Lucifer, an their plans for doing it involve Sam. So long as he’s with me there’s no way they’ll get to him. We’ve got time to let him heal a little. I won’t let him, or you even, sacrifice yourselves to take care of a threat that we don’t have to worry about right now. Sam needs this time to heal. So, he’s going to get it.”

There was a moment where Dean just let Gabriel’s words sink in. The internal debate was kind of obvious on his face and Gabriel was prepared to argue his point a bit more. But then he was pleasantly surprised when Dean’s expression smoothed out and the hunter gave a nod. “Okay.”

Well, that was a lot easier than Gabriel had anticipated. He smiled in open relief. “Okay.”

The two shared one last look of understanding between them before they turned together and headed back out to the living room. What they found out there was enough to make them both stop in their tracks. Gabriel wasn’t sure what kind of reaction Dean was having to what he was seeing, good or bad. He wasn’t paying the hunter any attention. All Gabriel’s focus was on his little boy on the couch.

The image in front of him was one that had Gabriel wanting to snap up a camera. It was too precious for words.

The two were still cuddled up as they had been before Gabriel went into the kitchen. Only, Sam had finally relaxed a little and was limp in Castiel’s lap. One hand had come up and was fiddling with Castiel’s tie in a gesture Gabriel had come to recognize as Sammy trying to resist bringing his thumb up to suck. Absently, the archangel made note yet again of trying to see if Sammy would be okay with a pacifier. It was bad for his teeth and thumb to constantly be sucking on it, not to mention dirty. But Sam was resisting sucking his thumb at the moment. Most of his focus was on the tie in front of him and the soft story that Castiel was telling him.

“You ready for this?” Gabriel murmured to the hunter beside him.

He snuck a look over and saw as Dean straightened himself up. He was almost radiating discomfort, yet his look was determined and his eyes were fixed right on Sam. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is back in Sammy's POV. Anything you'd like to see, anything you'd love to have happen, anything you think the brothers should do together, drop me a line and let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had never been to Uncle Cassie's house before. It was kind of different being here. There was a part of Sam that really wanted to take a look around and see what kind of house he had. There was a part that was deeper inside that wanted to see whether Gabriel had designed it to his tastes, or to Castiel's, and if it was the latter – what exactly were Castiel's tastes? However, all of that was largely overshadowed by the little boy who really, _really_ didn't want to move off his Uncle's lap at the moment.

There'd been just a small flash of embarrassment at being placed here in Uncle Cassie's lap. Especially since Sam was wearing the _diaper_ and _what if he could feel it_?

However, Castiel quickly and easily soothed away Sam's fears with gentle strokes over his back and the soft humming sound right by his ear. Sam found himself curling up and leaning into him almost like he would against his Daddy. Right now, Sam really wanted to be curled up with Daddy, but Daddy had put him here and he needed to be a good boy and stay here and wait for him to get back. He was going to come back. He would!

As if picking up on Sam's thoughts, Castiel drew him in a little closer and rubbed lightly at his arm. “Everything is all right, Sam. I can hear your Daddy and your brother talking – they're still here.”

The words eased a bit of the knot inside of Sam. He relaxed a little more against his uncle and reached out to fiddle with his tie. He twisted it around, rubbing the fabric between his fingers to feel how soft it was. It worked perfectly to distract him from how badly he wanted to slip his thumb up into his mouth. Curled up and safe, Sam felt comfortable enough to ask for one of the things that he'd learned to love so much from his Uncle. “Tell m-me a s-s-st-story, Uncle C-Cassie?” Maybe a story would help him feel better. Maybe it'd make him forget all about the bag things that were in his head.

He felt the warmth of Castiel's grace brush against him in that way he was learning meant that angels were really happy. “Of course. Shall I tell you about the time that I watched your Daddy teach one of our brothers to fly?”

It felt nice to sit there and listen to Castiel's story. Sam was safe and secure in his Uncle's hold, with his Daddy and his brother nearby, and listening to Castiel's story helped Sam forget for a little while what they were here for and what had happened. He could pretend that it was just him and Uncle Cassie and nothing else was going on.

At least, he could for a little bit. Right up until he heard footsteps. His head shot up and his heart jumped in his chest when he found both Gabriel and Dean making their way over towards the couch. Gabriel bypassed the open seat by Sam's feet and instead went to the end of the couch where they were at, dropping down onto the armrest directly next to them. It put him in the perfect place for Sam to lean back a little and feel his Daddy pressing up behind him. Gabriel grinned down at him and brushed a bit of his hair back from his face. “Is Uncle Cassie out here telling stories on me?”

Sam nodded, not quite able to say anything. His voice seemed to have dried up the instant he saw his brother.

It felt like there was a war going on inside of Sam at the sight of Dean. The adult half of him, the part that had been forced to be grown up for so long, was shouting and screaming that this was a horrible idea, he shouldn't be acting like this, _Dean could see him_. But... but Gabriel had said it was okay. He'd said that it was fine and Dean wasn't angry. He'd - he'd said it was safe, right? Sam bit down on his bottom lip and tilted his head just a little, trying to look back at his Daddy for reassurance. It _was_ safe, right?

Gabriel bent down and pressed a kiss against Sam’s forehead. “It’s all right, munchkin.”

As much as it reassured him to hear Gabriel murmur those words, he wasn’t the one that Sam needed to hear them from right now. His eyes were still fixed on his brother. The fact that Dean hadn’t said anything still was making Sam’s stomach twist even more. Without realizing it he found his hand clenching down a little tighter on Castiel’s tie. It took every ounce of courage he had to open his mouth and force out something as simple as his brother’s name. “D-De’n?”

The sound of his name stammered out in a way Dean probably hadn’t heard in a long time had the older Winchester startling. Sam watched as Dean’s face softened that way it only did with his little brother and some of the knot inside of Sam faded away. He knew that look – knew the love there. “Hey, Sammy.”

Those two words said in that soft, gentle tone, the tone that Dean always used when Sam was hurt or sick, was enough to push away the last of Sam’s fears. He didn’t even realize he was moving until suddenly he was almost flying across the couch to crash into his brother. Dean was just as quick to react as Gabriel was, only he didn’t have the archangelic strength to help him. The two slammed back into the corner as Sam hit Dean almost full force, knocking the air right out of him. Dean grunted from the impact even as his arms came up around Sam in an instinctive gesture.

Sam buried his face against Dean’s shirt and scrunched it up tight to try and keep from crying. “’m s-s-sorry, De. Didn’ m-mean to make y-you m-m-mad. ‘M _sorry_.”

“Hey, hey. Shut up.” Dean lightly clipped the back of Sam’s head like he’d done so many times before. Then he cupped it gently, using that grip to hold Sam to him. “We both pushed each other a little hard back there. Don’t worry about it, tiger. We got you home now and that’s all that matters.”

Buried against Dean, Sam missed the way that Dean was looking down at him, or the happy and proud looks that the angels wore. He missed the silent conversation as the trio looked at one another over top of him. All Sam cared about was that he was right here in Dean’s arms with the rest of his family around him and they were all _safe_. Everyone was safe and no one was angry with him for the stupid mistakes he’d made. Dean wasn’t pushing him away or calling him weird or anything like that.

When Sam finally sat back up, Castiel was there waiting for him with a handkerchief in hand that he used to wipe away some of the traitorous tears that had slipped out despite Sam’s efforts. The boy flushed and tipped his head down, slanting a shy look at his Uncle. “Th-Thanks Uncle Cass-sie.”

“You are welcome, little one.” Castiel said fondly.

Dean’s hand was still on Sam’s back, rubbing soothingly, but it was obvious that he was a bit done with the emotional part of things for the moment. He had Sam right there with him and the rest of it, as Gabriel had said, could wait. “Dude, what’s up with that?” He asked, chuckling and tugging teasingly on the ends of Sam’s hair. “Why are you calling the poor guy Uncle Cassie? Why not Uncle Cas?”

“Why not?” Gabriel shot back.

“Cassie’s a girl name. His name’s _Cas_!”

Sam watched as Gabriel rolled his eyes. He shot a wink at Sam, who ducked his head down a little. “Technically, Deano, his name’s _Castiel_. Besides, angels don’t conform to that whole ridiculous gender thing.”

“I am quite content with what Samuel calls me.” Castiel interrupted them., tilting his head to give Sam one of those little smiles of his. They weren’t big like Daddy’s or Dean’s, but they kind of _felt_ big. “And I am honored to be a part of his flock.”

The smile made Sam feel good, but at the same time he couldn’t help but bite his lip in worry. These guys were his family – his flock, as Castiel had put it – and everyone knew it. The demons had known it. Sam curled his arms in a little, pressing them against himself to try and fight back the feeling of something around his wrists. In his mind came the poisonous words that the demons had hissed in his ears as they’d hurt him, over and over again.

“Hey.”

Everything around Sam shifted and he found himself gathered up into a pair of arms that he would recognize no matter what. Sam pressed in close and didn't fight it as Gabriel picked him up and moved them. The sound of Dean's voice barely penetrated past the memories that were trying to creep up. He heard enough to know that his brother was talking, as was Castiel, but all the voices and memories were drowned out as Gabriel's voice came right next to his ear. “It's okay, Sammy. I got you.” Sam felt it as they moved again, this time into a position Sam knew well. Gabriel had sat down somewhere and he had Sam in his lap with him. It allowed Sam to press in as tight as he could against his Daddy and sink down enough to be able to bury his face in against his Daddy's neck. There, he could lose himself in the scent that was pure Gabriel in the hopes of drowning out the memory of the scent of his own blood.

“You're safe.” Gabriel murmured. He held on tightly to Sam and didn't try to stop him from hiding. “I've got you, baby boy.”

A shudder ran down Sam. He needed to stop acting like this. Being little was one thing - breaking down completely in front of everyone was something else. He couldn't do this. Not here. Not now.

Gabriel sighed and pressed a kiss against his hair. “Okay, baby. Okay.” He reached up and cupped his hand to the back of Sam's head, holding him in place as the seat they were in started to rock a little. Sam wanted to protest it - he didn't need rocked, especially not with Dean watching him! - but it felt kind of... good.

“Cassie, why don't you and Deano pick out a movie? You still got the movies I gave you?” Gabriel asked.

“Absolutely.” There was the soft sound of movement and them Sam heard Castiel speaking in a lower voice, gathering Dean to him. “This is what he needs right now, Dean. Let Gabriel take care of him.”

“He was fine, Cas.” Dean protested, though his voice was just as low as Castiel's. Obviously he hoped Sam couldn't hear him. “What the hell happened?”

“It is as I warned you. Your brother is in a delicate place at the moment. We need to trust that Gabriel knows how to take care of him.”

“I know how to take care of him.” Dean insisted sharply.

Sam felt guilt claw at his stomach. He almost pushed up away from Gabriel to go to his brother, though he had no idea what he'd do. He wanted to comfort Dean somehow. Dean had always been the one to take care of Sam. He'd done it for as far back as Sam could remember, and he'd always been protective and possessive of Sam. When other people had tried to step in and help take care of Sam, Dean had always pushed them back. Sam was his responsibility. And now here Sam was turning to someone that wasn't Dean. Letting someone else take care of him and comfort him. Of course Dean was upset about it!

The idea of making Dean upset had Sam's stomach twisting uncomfortably until he felt like he was going to be sick. He wanted to push away and go over to Dean, but at the same time he didn't want to move out of Gabriel's arms. He wanted to stay right here and let Gabriel hold him and rock him and take care of him.

There was the sound of a snap near Sam's head and the room went quiet. Sam didn't bother moving - he knew he could trust whatever Gabriel snapped up.

A warm blanket was suddenly being drawn around Sam and tucked in all around his body until he was practically cocooned in it. Even his arms were tucked in. As Gabriel wrapped him up, he told the others “Do you two mind saving your argument until there aren't little ears around?” Then he dropped his voice down low and it changed to that tone that was just for Sammy. “Don't listen to them, munchkin. You're just fine right where you are. Uncle Cassie and your brother are gonna pick out a movie and we can just sit together an relax, just like I promised earlier. How's that sound, hm?”

A movie sounded... it sounded nice. Anything to keep the thoughts from creeping back into Sam's head.

He didn't bother opening his eyes until he heard the first bits of music starting to play. A familiar sound had him looking up to find that they'd put on one of his favorite movies - How to Train Your Dragon 2. Sam _loved_ these movies!

Gabriel didn't stop rocking as they watched the movie. He held on to Sam and continued the soft rocking motion.

The terror that had tried to grip Sam was slowly fading away again. Here, wrapped up in a blanket in his Daddy's arms, it was easier to believe it when he said that they were safe. Here, he could believe that Daddy would keep him and everyone else safe. The demons wouldn't get a chance to come after them. They wouldn't be able to hurt Daddy or Uncle Cassie or even Dean. Gabriel wouldn't let that happen.

One of Gabriel's hands left Sam for a moment and the little boy looked up curiously, only to find that Gabriel was pulling Taffy out of the diaper bag, as well as a familiar cup. Sam didn't even think anything of it. He untucked one of his arms and quickly held it out for the stuffed animal. Gabriel grinned and pressed it down into his arms. Then the cup was being held out as well. “Here, munchkin. Have some juice, too. Your body needs it.”

Sam tilted his head just enough to be able to slant a look over to where Castiel and Dean were at on the couch. The two were side by side – Castiel was seemingly entranced by the movie. Dean, however, kept sneaking looks over at them, his expression worried. Sam didn't want to worry him more. He didn't want to upset him. What if this was getting too much? What if he didn't like this?

A soft jostle of Gabriel's arm drew the little boy's attention back to his Daddy. He looked up and found Gabriel smiling down at him. “It'll be fine, baby boy.” Gabriel murmured in a low, gentle voice. “Don't worry about it. He's perfectly fine with this.” He moved the cup a little and wiggled it just a bit in front of Sam. “You need this, Sammy. It’ll help you feel better. Can you drink it for me like a big boy? Or you want Daddy to help you?”

It was embarrassing just how badly Sam wanted to answer that, and not in the way that Daddy probably expected. He pushed down that longing and instead reached up with one hand and curled it around the cup while trying to make sure he didn't lose his grip on Taffy either. Then Sam brought the cup down into the blanket with him until it was buried underneath the blankets. There, where no one could really see, he snuggled down a little again and brought the sippy cup to his lips.

Little by little the tension slowly started to slip out of Sam. With each rock of the chair, each gentle stroke of Gabriel’s hand over his leg, and the relaxing sounds of his family breathing or shifting around nearby, Sam finally felt safe enough to just breathe and let himself relax. He was safe, he had his family here, and they were all unharmed. No one was hurt or fighting and Dean wasn’t mad at him, nor was he running away after seeing Sam like this.

Whatever else was coming their way, they’d handle it. But for that moment Sam was the most content that he’d been in a long, long time.


	5. Chapter 5

If it weren’t for the trauma that had brought them here and the underlying tension in the room, this would’ve been the perfect morning for Gabriel. He was in his favorite brother’s house, Dean was nearby and for once not causing a lick of trouble, and little Sammy was curled up in Gabriel’s lap. The little boy was so sweetly lying there bundled up in a blanket – safe and protected from anyone who would dare even _think_ to harm him – and he was letting Gabriel take care of him in a way that usually only happened when they were alone.

Gabriel couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at Sam’s face. The boy was half awake, holding tightly to both Taffy and his Daddy, eyes fixed on the movie.  Gabriel noticed one of Sam’s hands moving the blankets around a bit, a little furrow building between his brows as if whatever he was trying to do wasn’t working. A bit of watching showed Gabriel pretty quickly what the problem was. Sam was trying to bring his cup up to his mouth without having to let go of Taffy, the blankets, or Gabriel.

The longing that Sam had felt earlier when Gabriel had offered to help him with his drink hadn’t escaped the archangel’s notice. For a brief second Gabriel snuck a look at the two on the couch. He was amused to find that even Dean seemed caught up in the movie now. Now that he was sure their attention was occupied, Gabriel focused back on his boy. It wasn’t hard to adjust Sam a little more into the crook of Gabriel’s left arm. At the same time, he brought his right hand up, slipping under the blanket to take hold of the sippy cup. Barely any was gone out of it. Sam needed this – it had some extra nutrients in it compared to normal juice. All things Sam would need to help replace the energy that he’d lost while on the case, being captured and tortured, and then from the healing afterwards. Angels were excellent healers but there was only so much they could do. Sam’s body had to replace some of its own lost energy.

Sam was so caught up in his movie that he didn’t notice it at first when Gabriel slipped the cup past his lips. The first few drinks were instinctive, Sam’s eyes never leaving the screen. But Gabriel could see the exact moment that Sam realized what was going on. He stopped drinking - stopped moving, really - and then his eyes slowly lifted to Gabriel's face. There were so many different emotions show in Sam's eyes not to mention how much was coming off of him that Gabriel's grace was able to pick up on. There was no doubt in Gabriel's mind that this was something Sam _wanted_ , yet it was also something that he was so damn terrified of wanting.

“It's all right, munchkin.” Gabriel didn't stop the rocking that he'd been doing this whole time. He kept it up, a gentle little sway, knowing that it calmed Sam. He hadn't been sure when he'd snapped the chair up and gathered Sam up in it. But now - well, now he was pretty sure he was going to have to put a rocking chair in the living room and in Sammy's room back at their place. This was something Gabriel was more than happy to do and it looked like Sam responded really well to it.

Sam tried half-heartedly to move his mouth away from the cup. All it took was a little pressure from Gabriel and the tip of the cup stayed in. “Sam.” There was a hint of warning in that, telling Sam that Gabriel was serious here. It worked like a charm. The kid stopped twitching and fussing and just looked up at him with wide eyes. Gabriel smiled down at him. “I told you, sweetheart, it's fine. You're all wrapped up nice and cuddly here with me. It's no big deal if you can't get your hands out for the cup. Just let me help you, hm?”

There was one more moment of hesitation. Then Gabriel could see it as Sam must've decided that he was going to go with the flow. His body relaxed and his eyes blinked up at Gabriel for a moment before they went back to half-mast and focused on the movie once more. There was another pause and then Gabriel felt it as Sam started to drink again.

Gabriel's smile softened. That could've gone so much worse and he was immensely grateful that it hadn't. A battle of wills was the last thing that he or Sam needed at the moment. Sam needed to be taken care of and Gabriel needed to do it. This was their way of making one another okay after what happened. Plus, Gabriel knew that Sam wanted things like this. Sometimes he wanted this extra care. Oh, he didn't want to regress fully down to being a baby. That wasn't for him. He didn't want full time diapers or only drinking from bottles or things like that. But the nighttime diapers, maybe a bottle before bed? Those were things that Sam wanted, even if the idea of it scared or worried him. Gabriel wasn't an idiot. He knew Sam worried about the things he did that were 'younger'.

They were going to have to sit down and talk about this once Sam was in the right frame of mind again. Then Gabriel could hopefully find a way to finally convince Sam that he didn't mind. That he wanted to be doing all this.

Gabriel had heard Sam's thoughts before even if he hadn't been trying to listen. He knew Sam worried about the romantic side of their relationship. That it was suffering because of how much time they seemed to be spending with Sammy little.

What Gabriel could never seem to make Sam understand was that he honestly didn’t mind. Loving Sam didn’t mean that he only wanted him for sex and grown up dates and things like that. Sure, Gabriel had been Loki for a long time. He’d lived as a pagan god and he’d indulged happily in that hedonistic lifestyle. He loved sex in almost all its forms. But before that, buried underneath it all, he was the archangel Gabriel. First and foremost that was who he was. And archangels didn’t _need_ sex. Gabriel could live without it without any trouble. And as for other adult time, well, they had that, too. They did things as adults. They hung out together, watched movies, went out to eat, all the things that other adults do. Was it edged with something that was a bit more Daddy/little? Yes, of course. Gabriel didn’t stop being Sam’s Daddy when he was big. But that was just how their relationship worked and Gabriel wouldn’t trade one moment of it for any of those so-called ‘normal’ relationships out there. He liked hanging out at the house with a little Sammy and playing in the backyard or building castles out of Legos. He also liked going out with adult Sam to a movie or a museum and seeing Sam truly be himself, dragging Gabriel around to look at things, laughing and grinning with the childlike wonder that always amazed Gabriel.

The warm weight of Sam shifted a little and drew Gabriel’s attention back out of his thoughts and down to his boy. He chuckled a little when he saw that the rocking and the juice had managed to put Sam to sleep. Oh, yeah, they were definitely putting a big wide rocking chair like this in the house.

Gabriel looked up to find both Dean and Castiel watching them. Holding the cup still, Gabriel put one finger to his lips to warn them to be quiet. Then he set the cup down on the little side table nearby. “I doubt he’ll stay out for long, but he needs to take what sleep he can get. He’s exhausted and seriously low on energy.”

“I thought you healed him.” Dean’s voice was low enough to not wake Sam, but there was no mistaking the threat there.

That tone had Gabriel arching an eyebrow. Was Dean trying to suggest that Gabriel hadn’t done a good job taking care of his boy? “Of course I did. But angelic healing only does so much, bucko. Some of it, his body’s got to do on its own. A quick nap will help with that. He’ll rest better now that he knows he’s got all of us here.”

Dean went quiet after that, but Gabriel could see that he was thinking hard about something. Hard enough to have Castiel watching him with concern.

A sigh slid from Gabriel and he fought back the urge to roll his eyes. “Whatever it is, just spit it out, Deanasaur.”

This relationship with Sam hadn’t just brought out more of Sam’s little side – it’d also brought forth the parental part of Gabriel more than it’d been in a long time. It’d brought out the Dad he’d tried to be with his kids, as well as the older brother he’d been with all his siblings back home. Sam might need the Daddy part, but something told Gabriel that there were sometimes Dean might benefit from the big brother part. Right now that was the part he let forth. The one who could be caring, but who also wasn’t going to take any crap from an annoying little brother.

The nickname had Dean scowling at him. But then the older Winchester’s eyes drifted down to Sam and they softened. “He’s not… this isn’t quite what I expected it to be.”

“I can imagine.” Gabriel said dryly. He’d caught the gist of some of Dean’s thoughts. What he’d pictured were things influenced by Daddy/little dynamics were portrayed how movies and TV and random people who didn’t know what they were talking about.

Dean didn’t seem to take offense to Gabriel’s dry tone. His eyes were still on Sam. “That wasn’t just Sam playing a part here with you. I may not always understand adult Sam, but there’s no one out there that knows Sammy better than I do. And that, that was him. That was my little brother back there, straight down to the stutter. Shit, man.” Pausing, Dean wiped a hand over his face. “I haven’t heard him stutter like that it freaking forever.”

This was a perfect opportunity for Gabriel to probe for just a little bit of information. Some things he knew Sam didn’t like talking about and some things he didn’t have the answers to. With Dean knowing what was going on now, maybe Gabriel would finally be able to get some of the answers to questions he’d wondered about for a while. He’d have to do it carefully, though. With that in mind, Gabriel adjusted his hold a little so that he could better turn towards Dean. “He doesn’t usually stutter, actually.” He left that comment open ended, hoping Dean would pick up on it.

Luckily, he did. “Yeah, I know he tries damn hard not to. He used to do it a lot when he was younger. It’s why he always called me De. When he was little, he couldn’t talk without stuttering and my name just wouldn’t come out right. Even after he stopped stuttering, he still called me De, though.”

“When did he stop?” Castiel asked curiously. He’d been quiet up until now, but he’d been paying attention to their conversation the whole time.

“About, um… seven, I think?” Dean furrowed his brow a little before nodding. “Yeah, I think he was seven. Dad worked hard to get him to stop cause, well, you can’t recite an exorcism or anything if you’re stuttering. It doesn’t work.”

Temper bubbled up in Gabriel’s grace. _Damn John Winchester_. The more he heard about the man, the more he loathed him. Gabriel knew he hadn’t been a perfect father but he’d never done the things to his kids that John had. “Real classy. I’m sure he was just a _peach_ about it, too.”

Dean shrugged but didn’t bother arguing. That in and of itself was rather telling. Usually Dean was the first to defend John. “It doesn’t usually crop up unless he’s really hurt or really scared.”

“I’d say he’s plenty scared right now.”

“What do we do?”

That last question had Gabriel wincing a little. He looked down at Sam and wished he had an easy answer for this. There was a lot they needed to do and not all of it could be done yet. Some of it, the others wouldn’t even be involved in doing. Once Gabriel got things squared away here with his little family – his flock – he was damn well going to go out demon hunting until he found out who exactly it was that was behind all of this and whether or not they were working alone. He was also going to have a word back home about how well Heaven was keeping an eye on demons trying to restart the freaking apocalypse!

But right now, in this moment, taking care of Sam was Gabriel’s main concern, and he knew the things he needed to do to accomplish that. Sam need to rest and eat so that he could rebuild his energy. That, at least, would take care of the physical aspect. The mental and emotional – that was going to take time. And they were already working on it simply by having all of them here. Well… almost all of them. Gabriel looked around and realized guiltily that they’d forgotten one little member of their family when he’d brought Sam over here.

A snap of his fingers had a rather annoyed looking pup appearing by his chair. Missy glared at him in a way that made it abundantly clear she wasn’t happy with having been left behind for so long. Contrary to what humans thought, dogs were rather smart, and this one was smarter than most. She had a quick mind and a fierce heart that loved wholly and deeply. Sam had captured that heart when he’d rescued her and taken such complete care of her after she’d known a world only of pain. He was the single most important thing in Missy’s world and Gabriel felt guilty, knowing she’d been just as worried as they had, _and_ she was the reason they’d even found him to begin with.

“Sorry.” Gabriel apologized, reaching out to scratch behind her ear. She let him, though her disapproving look didn’t fade. “Hey, don’t give me that. I was a little too focused on our boy here, all right? I didn’t mean to leave you behind.”

Missy gave a huff and pulled away from his hand. She came around the edge of the chair enough that she could get a better view of Sam instead of just the back of his head. Her front paws were planted on Gabriel’s leg and she held herself there, trying to get a look at her boy. “He’s fine.” Gabriel reassured her. At her skeptical look, he smiled. “He will be. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Dude, it never fails to be creepy when you do that.” Dean said, his voice just a bit amused.

Gabriel lifted his head to look over to the two on the couch. “Hello – angel here, bucko. We speak all languages.”

A soft little whimper cut off any more conversation the others might’ve had. Gabriel felt the tendrils of a nightmare creeping into Sam’s mind and he quickly curled a wing around his boy, letting his grace wash over him and chase back the darkness. It had Sam relaxing, but it also had him opening his eyes.

This right here was one of Gabriel’s favorite looks on Sam. Unless a nightmare or some outside force woke him, he always looked the same upon waking up. Hair mussed, lips in this almost-pout, hazel eyes heavy and darkened to a shade of moss green flecked with brown, like the bark of a tree peeking through. Those sleepy eyes found Gabriel and they warmed even as a ghost of a smile touched at his lips. “Daddy.”

“Hey there, munchkin.” Gabriel brought a hand up and smoothed back some of Sam’s hair, briefly cupping his cheek just because he could. The warmth there and the way that Sam turned in towards his palm helped push back the memories of touching a much cooler, bloodied cheek.

Sam rubbed his cheek over Gabriel’s palm. His eyes cut to the side, over in the direction of the TV. “’S the m-m-movie d-done?”

“Yep. You slept right through it.”

Once, Sam would’ve apologized for that. He knew better now. That was a habit Gabriel had worked quickly to break him of. If Gabriel let him, Sam would apologize for _everything_. But now, Sam knew well enough to know that napping during a movie wasn’t a big deal at all, and that Gabriel didn’t mind. So he didn’t bother apologizing this time. Instead, he hummed happily and snuggled down into his blankets a little more.

As cute as sleepy Sammy was, and as much as Gabriel wanted to keep him here snug and happy, he knew he needed to start to get Sam up a bit, get him interacting with them, and maybe even eating something. So far Sam hadn’t shown any signs of hunger even though, logically speaking, he should be starving. Angelic healing did nothing for an empty stomach.

“I think it’s time to find some lunch. You guys hungry?” Gabriel asked, looking up and over to Dean and Castiel. He kept a bit of his attention focused on Sam, not quite sure if he remembered them being here before he fell asleep. But Sam didn’t flinch at the question. He yawned and rubbed sleepily at one eye, his other arm still holding tightly to Taffy.

The pair on the couch exchanged a brief look and then Dean shrugged. “I could eat something.”

Gabriel dropped his gaze back down to the boy he was holding. “What about you, Sammy? You hungry?” When Sam only shrugged, Gabriel purposely jiggled him a little just to make him smile. “C’mon, munchkin! Anything you want. What sounds good for lunch?”

“P-Pizza?”

Gabriel’s smile was blindingly bright. He’d been worried that Sam would avoid eating altogether the way he usually ended up doing when he was upset. The fact that he’d picked out food without a fight was a very, very good sign. “You want some pizza? I think we can manage that. But only if you help me make it. I don’t know if I can make it on my own.”

That perked the kid right up. Sleepy eyes went wide and then long limbs were trying to push against the blanket so that he could sit up. “I c-can help!”

“Awesome.” Gabriel grinned as he helped unwrap Sam before he ended up falling down to the ground. He held on to Sam’s waist and then dropped his legs down so his feet hit the ground. “Well, c’mon then, baby boy. Let’s show these boys how we make pizza.”

Sam’s smile wasn’t as bright as normal. It held a hint of tightness around the edges, a bit of hesitance that normally wasn’t there. But Gabriel counted it as a major win when Sam turned to look at Dean, who’d risen up from the couch at the same time they’d stood up, and he only hesitated briefly before he asked “Y-You guys wanna c-come he-help?”

The smile that curved Dean’s lips wasn’t quite up to par, either. It was unsure and maybe a little bit forced. But he was trying. For the moment, that was plenty good enough, and it seemed to fool Sam. “I might as well. You never put enough onions on there.” He said teasingly.

“Th-That’s cause on’ons are gr-gross!”

Smiling, Gabriel led the way to Castiel’s kitchen, enjoying the playful bickering of the brothers behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Cooking with Sam was something Gabriel really did enjoy doing. He knew that most parents out there didn’t like to due to the messes a kid could leave behind. But Gabriel had always loved a good mess. He didn’t mind it when his little Sammy spilled flour or dripped chocolate on the floor. Even Big Sam was a complete mess in the kitchen. You could always tell where Sam had been in the kitchen – every cupboard he got into was left open. Something usually ended up burnt, too, if he was trying it on his own. Not that Gabriel let him cook while alone at home.

Today, Sam was more subdued than normal, but some of his energy was starting to come back. He followed Gabriel into the kitchen and then rocked on his feet, looking over to Castiel and then to Gabriel, obviously unsure which one he should speak to as he asked “Can I g-get the stu-stu-stuff out?”

Gabriel tilted his head to look at his brother. “What do you think, Cassie? You mind your kitchen getting a little bit messy so we can make you guys something to eat?”

“Of course.” Castiel turned his smile towards Sam. “As I believe the humans say – make yourselves at home.”

Dean flashed a grin. “ _Mi casa es su casa_ , eh?”

The smile on Castiel’s face grew. “Yes. That is a good saying, I believe. My home will always be open to my fl-family.”

Only Gabriel seemed to catch the real word that had almost slipped past Castiel’s lips. Sam didn’t notice the slip and Dean may have caught it, but he didn’t know what it meant. Gabriel did. He knew exactly what Castiel had been ready to say. With one wing Gabriel reached out to his brother and brushed lightly over Castiel’s wings. ‘ _I hope you know it goes both ways, little brother. You’re always welcome in my nest.  My flock will always be welcome with me._ ’ He sent the thought privately, the words not intended for the two humans that wouldn’t understand their significance. It was worth it to see the way that Castiel’s grace lit up with absolute joy mixed with a bit of disbelief. The love that he sent next made Gabriel smile.

As the two angels were silently speaking, Sam had decided to take Castiel at his word. He grabbed hold of Dean’s hand and dragged him over towards the fridge. “C’mon, De! We c-can get the st-stuff out!”

Luckily, Gabriel noticed in enough time to snap his fingers and make sure that the fridge carried the type of things they’d need for their pizzas. He also made some pizza dough appear in a bowl on the counter. He wasn’t in the mood to make up the dough from scratch at the moment but rolling it out and decorating it the way they wanted sounded perfect. “Here, Cassie, let me show you how to spread out the perfect pizza. Not too thick, not too thin…”

“No thin crust!” Dean called out.

When Gabriel looked over he found Dean carrying armfuls of stuff over to the counter right beside him. Sam was scurrying after him, Taffy tucked firmly under one arm, and his bottom lip held between his teeth as he concentrated on not dropping the bags of cheese and the vegetables that he was carrying.

Dean set his own stuff down and then stepped back so Sam could unload his stuff on the counter as well. As Sam went back to the fridge, Dean sifted through the stuff they’d brought out. Gabriel focused back on taking the pizza pans Castiel was handing to him. He didn’t see whatever it was that Dean was looking at. A second later, he didn’t have to see - he got to hear it clear enough.

“Dude, what’s the hell’s up with the fake cheese?”

“Language.” Gabriel admonished him automatically. But he wasn’t paying much attention to Dean’s language. His focus turned towards the little boy who had just frozen halfway between the fridge and the counter and who was suddenly looking a lot more interested with the container of olives he was holding. Well, that answered that. Gabriel raised an eyebrow even though Sam wasn’t looking at him and he made his voice go just slightly firm. “I thought I told you to speak with your brother about this, Sam.”

Sam ducked his head a little and slanted a brief look over at Dean before bringing his eyes up to Gabriel and then dropping them to the ground. “S-Sorry, Daddy.”

It was really, really hard to be annoyed with him right now, especially with how fragile he knew Sam was at the moment. But it wasn’t something that Gabriel was going to let slide - not when it concerned Sam’s health. The archangel sighed and shook his head. “We’re going to talk about this later, once we’re home.” Once he was sure Sam understood, Gabriel turned back to Dean who was looking extremely confused by everything. “I told Sam to tell you but he apparently decided not to for some reason. Sam’s developed a bit of intolerance to dairy. He was starting to get sick when he ate and I had to take a look to figure out what was going on.”

“Seriously?” Dean gave Sam a surprised look as the little boy slunk towards the counter and set the olives down. “He’s always been fine with milk before.”

Shrugging, Gabriel went back to demonstrating to Castiel how to spread pizza dough out on the pan, letting his hands and grace do the talking while he continued to physically talk to Dean. “It happens in you humans. Your body changes as you get older and you develop allergies that weren’t there before. Plus, he’s probably had it for a while, he just never realized it. What you guys all thought was a sensitive stomach or him being picky was probably him reacting bad to dairy.” Gabriel watched as Castiel mimicked his moves perfectly, spreading the dough out into a great pizza shape before setting it onto the pizza pan. “Nice job, bro.”

Dean wasn’t quite done with their conversation. He hitched a hip against the counter near Gabriel and watched them. “Can’t you just like, heal that?” he asked.

“Heal what?” Gabriel raised his eyebrows. This was a thought he was going to nip in the bud, quickly, and maybe manage to make a little point at the same time. “It’s just who he is. It’s just an allergy, a part of him. An it’s not like it’s hard to change his diet around to suit it. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” He’d felt Sam drawing towards him, probably still a little worried, and Gabriel responded to it now by reaching out to ruffle his boy’s hair and smile at him, hoping to reassure Sam that everything was alright. The tiny smile he got in return told him the message had been received. Satisfied, Gabriel brought his eyes back to Dean. “He doesn’t mind it and neither do I. We got different cheeses, special yogurt. We even got him special strawberry milk.”

The mention of one of his favorite things had Sam perking up a little. Because he was one of the sweetest boys that Gabriel had ever known, of course the first thing he said was “You want s-some, De?”

Not even Dean could resist that dimpled little smile. “That’s all right, Sammy. It’s special for you.”

“I can sh-share.” Sam said. He tugged Taffy in a little and shifted so he could lean against Gabriel’s back, his cheek coming to rest against Gabriel’s hair. “Daddy says we’re ‘p-posed to share.”

“It’s all right.” Dean said again. “But you know what I would like?” He waited until Sam was looking expectantly at him to say “I’d like to know why you didn’t tell me you couldn’t have milk.”

Immediately Sam’s body went tense. Gabriel flatted out the last of the dough in front of him and held himself still. He was curious about what Sam was going to say but he wasn’t going to let Dean push him. This visit was supposed to be about making Sam feel better not jumping on him for other things.

It took a long moment before Sam found his voice. When he did, it was the low mumble that told Gabriel his boy would be shuffling a little and looking down at the ground to try and avoid looking up at his brother. “D-Didn’t want you t’ make f-f-fun of m-me.”

“I wouldn’t make fun of you for something you can’t control, Sam.” Dean sounded hurt by even the idea of it. “You really thought I’d do that?’

“Thought y-you’d l-l-laugh at m-me.” Sam said softly. He pressed his cheek against Gabriel’s hair a little more and rubbed lightly in a self-soothing way. His voice got even quieter, a whisper that human ears almost wouldn’t be able to hear. “You l-laugh at m-me all th-the tim-me an call me a g-girl.”

“Man, it’s great to know what you think of me. Anything else you’re keeping secret from me, kid?”

The sharp tone had Sam flinching and ducking in on himself. Immediately, Gabriel was moving. He twisted around, one hand coming out to catch at Sam’s back and keep him from trying to pull away at the same time that he held his other hand out Dean’s direction. “Alright, that’s enough of _that_.” He pulled Sam in closer, where the boy easily melted in against him, and then he shot Dean a sharp look. “You got issues, you air em out when he’s feeling big, not when he’s like this. Though I gotta say I’m suddenly a lot more understanding on why he didn’t tell you if this is how you react.”

Without waiting for Dean or Castiel to say anything – and Gabriel had seen Castiel moving up towards Dean, one hand already extended to pull him safely back if need be – Gabriel turned his focus to the kid trembling against him. “Hey, munchkin, you’re fine.” He slid his hands up Sam’s biceps and rubbed the skin there for a moment before he brought them up to cup Sam’s cheeks. Gently he ran his thumbs over Sam’s cheekbones. “You still wanna come over here with Daddy and make up the pizzas? Or do you an Taffy maybe wanna go with Uncle Cassie and go set up the table outside? I’m thinking it looks like a nice night to sit outside while we eat. Then, Missy can play a bit in the yard, too. What do you think?”

It was kind of amazing and sad how Sam could manage to be so hunched down he actually looked _up_ at Gabriel through his bangs. He was hunched in on himself, head ducked down and body curled in a bit, making him look so much smaller. It was a look that always made Gabriel want to wrap him up. “C-Can I st-stay with-h you?”

“Of course you can, baby boy.” Gabriel pushed one hand up, using it to smooth Sam’s hair back from his face. “Why don’t we go ahead and start tossing together the sauce, hm? Then we can figure out toppings.” With one arm he pulled Sam close and he dropped down his other hand so he could reach for stuff on the counter. As he did, Gabriel looked over at Castiel, ignoring Dean completely. “You mind setting up a table on the back porch, little bro? It seems too good a night to sit inside.”

Castiel nodded at him. His eyes showed that he understood the words that Gabriel wasn’t saying. He proved that by reaching out and curling a hand around Dean’s upper arm. “Come, Dean. You can help me to set the table.”

Sure that those two would be fine, Gabriel turned his focus back to the kid against him. “All right. So, you remember what goes in our sauce, munchkin?”

* * *

Outside, Dean was grumbling as Castiel kept pulling him forward. The seraph hadn’t even bothered to stop and grab dishes. Plus, as soon as they were outside, it didn’t escape Dean’s notice that there was no table out here. He wasn’t stupid - he knew Gabriel had done this to separate him from his brother. Not like Dean had done anything wrong in there! He’d gotten a little bit short, sure, but that was to be expected when finding out that Sam was keeping more and more secrets from him. Especially secrets that concerned his health! There was no way that was going to be considered okay in Dean’s world - ever.

No one else seemed to think it was that big a deal, though. Instead, Gabriel had sent _Dean_ outside and Castiel was giving him that look now that said ne was disappointed in him.

“What, Cas?” Dean snapped. He couldn't help himself. “Quit looking at me like that! I’m not the one that’s keeping secret after secret here. I think I’ve got a right to be upset. Especially when he’s keeping things from me that are about his health!”

“Absolutely.” Castiel agreed immediately. He didn’t give Dean time to relax, though. He just continued on, making Dean tense all over again. “However, I agree with Gabriel that this is an issue that should wait until Sam is big enough to handle an argument. It should also wait until he is not as fragile as he is right now.”

That little reminder had Dean wanting to wince. Yeah, he knew just how fragile his brother was at the moment. Probably better than these guys did. Dean had been taking care of Sam for a long time now. He didn’t need _Gabriel_ telling him how to do his job.

The warmth of Castiel’s hand settling on his shoulder startled Dean. Bright blue eyes were fixed right on him and Dean found himself once more floored by how Castiel looked at him. He had a way of doing it that made Dean feel like he was totally and completely exposed to the angel. “You are not losing your brother, Dean. No matter the part Gabriel takes in Sam’s life, you will always be a part of it. You will always be important to him.”

“I know that.” He did! No one was going to take his place in Sam’s life. He just... He wished so many people didn’t _try_.

“He needs you here as surely as he needs Gabriel. Needing someone else in his life does not mean that he needs you less. You must let him grow up, so to speak.”

Dean couldn't help but scoff. “Grow up? That’s not _growing up_ , Cas.” He gestured back towards the house with his thumb.

“It is what he wants. What he has wanted for long time, actually, from what I understand. What he has with Gabriel causes him no harm. If anything, it makes him happier. His soul has grown so much brighter. Even his nightmares have lessened. With Gabriel, he is finding peace and acceptance and love. That is something that should be celebrated, even if you do not approve of it.”

Sighing, Dean ran a hand through his hair. He _didn’t_ approve of this. It went against the grain for him to see an adult behaving like a child. Especially with the type of life they’d lived. John had forced his boys to grow up faster than they should have. Dean knew that. An he’d always tried to make sure that Sam got some chances to be a kid. But their life didn’t leave room for it. There was no room for children in the life of a hunter. This whole thing, it was going to blow up in their faces, Dean just knew it. Only, no one else seemed to see that. And dean had a feeling he wasn’t going to be able to convince them of it.

When it all finally blew up in their faces, Dean knew he was going to be the one left here to pick up the pieces and put Sam back together. He was going to have to be the one who would deal with the consequences if Sam started acting like this on a hunt.

All Dean could see was all the ways this was going to go wrong. All the ways his brother was going to get hurt.

He was going to have to have a long talk with Sam about all this once he was back in a normal frame of mind. Dean knew that right now wasn’t the right time to do it. It would have to wait until Sam was back in his adult mindset and this whole thing with the demons had been dealt with. He wasn’t looking forward to that talk but it had to happen. Even if Sam hated him for it, Dean knew they had to talk about this. He had to look out for Sammy’s best interests. This, it wasn’t healthy, and it wasn’t safe. Maybe for someone else, but not for them, not in this life.

For now, there wasn’t much he could do though. It was going to have to wait.

Just for tonight, Dean was going to push all his worries aside and focus on doing the one thing that had always come naturally to him - taking care of Sammy. The rest would be dealt with when Sam was big.

“Come on, Cas.” Dean said, sighing as he pushed away his darker thoughts. His smile was just a ghost of his normal one but it was the best he could come up with. “Let’s get this table set.”


	7. Chapter 7

Dinner was a rather pleasant affair. The tension from the kitchen was mostly forgotten. Sam was a little quiet as he picked at his pizza, and he didn’t stray far from Gabriel’s side, but that was sort of expected considering what he’d been through.

It would’ve surprised them to realize that it wasn’t the attack that Sam was thinking about, though. He’d pushed that down as far as he possibly could and was doing his level best to ignore it. No – it was the argument in the kitchen that Sam kept thinking about. Arguing with his brother was never easy for Sam, no matter what anyone else might think, and that little burst of temper in there had been enough to bring the adult part of Sam just slightly forward. His mind was balancing precariously between being Sam and Sammy. He knew which one he _wanted_. But he also was pretty sure which one was _needed_ at the moment.

He didn’t say or do anything about it, though. Not until Gabriel and Castiel started gathering up their dishes and taking them back inside. It left Sam and Dean alone together, something that Sam is pretty sure Gabriel did on purpose. While he might not be constantly reading Sam’s mind, he was always so much more aware of Sam’s moods than anyone else ever had been. He seemed able to read Sam even better than Dean could sometimes. More often than not, Sam loved it. It made it so much easier when he was having a hard time putting his thoughts or feelings into words.

Sam fiddled with Taffy in his lap. Chewing at his bottom lip, he tried to think of how to start this. How to say what it was he knew he needed to say. There was so much that he had to say to Dean. Yet when he opened his mouth, all he could seem to manage were the two words that felt more important than any other. “I’m sorry.”

The whispered words had Dean’s head snapping up. When Sam snuck a look up through his bangs, he saw Dean looking over at him with a furrowed brow, his confusion plain on his face. “Sorry for what, Sammy?”

“For...for not tellin’ you about my diet, or, or about all _this_.” Sam bit a little harder on his bottom lip and ducked his head down, his shoulders rising up towards his ears.

“Sammy.” Sighing, Dean ran a hand through his hair. “Dude, don’t worry about all that right now, okay? We can deal with it later. Right now I’m just happy you’re here and alive, all right?”

That brought up the one thing that Sam was trying _not_ to think about. Sam was all too happy to push back their fight about everything else. But this only brought forth everything that had just happened and how much of that he had to apologize for as well. “I’m sorry for that, too.” Sam drew Taffy in against his chest and pressed his face against the puppy’s hair. It smelled like the stuff that Gabriel used to wash the sheets - it smelled like home. That scent helped him keep going, even though he wanted nothing more than to stop talking about this. “I’m sorry for makin’ you mad and fightin' with you. For runnin’ off.’ That was something he knew had to have pissed Dean off. He hated when Sam ran off, especially if he ended up in trouble. It was one thing their father had tried to train out of Sam. He always ran and he always ended up in some kind of trouble because of it. Because he let his emotions get the best of him and he ended up not thinking clearly or forgetting things. Wide eyes lifted as Sam looked pleadingly over at his brother. “I, I tried to stop em, De. I did - I swear. I didn’t go out helpless. I had my knife an a gun, but they, they were really _strong_ an I, I couldn’t…”

Sam’s breathing hitched and that seemed to be the final straw for Dean. There was the sound of a chair moving and then suddenly Dean was right there by Sam, pulling his chair back and crouching down between Sam’s knees. The older Winchester had never been able to stand seeing Sam upset, especially when he was little. Apparently that was still true even when it was only his mind that was little.

“Hey, hey.” Dean’s hand lifted and curled around the back of Sam’s neck. His thumb was just able to reach Sam’s jawline and it stroked soothingly there. “That was not your fault, Sammy. You hear me? You got nothing to be sorry for.”

Sam hugged tighter to Taffy. At the same time, he leaned into Dean’s touch. “They came outta nowhere. I didn’ even get the chance to pray. An then, when I woke up there I just, I kept prayin’ an they kept laughin’. They said no prayers were gettin’ out.” His voice dropped down to a whisper, a tiny breath barely able to be heard, just like they used to do when they were huddled together in a motel bed or in the back of the Impala and Sam would whisper his fears to the big brother who always made things better. “I was so scared, De.”

He wasn’t looking at Dean, so he didn’t see the way his brother winced or how his whole expression went soft. “I know you were, tiger. Bui you were brave, too. You held on, just like you were supposed to, until we could get there.” The hand on Sam’s neck gave a small squeeze and then a light shake. “I always come for you, don’t I?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll never leave you behind, Sammy you know that. An…” He heard Dean pause and then draw in a breath, his voice carefully steady as he continued. “An your Daddy, he won’t either. Neither will Cas. We’re a family. We take care of one another.”

The idea of it seemed so strange and yet so amazing. For a long time it had been just Sam and Dean. They’d been who the other could rely on. Then they’d gone through a lot and that trust had been fractured, almost completely broken. But they’d repaired it. And now their family had grown. It wasn’t just them anymore. They had Castiel and Gabriel, who cared for the both of them. Sam wasn’t the only one that found the idea hard to get used to. He’d just had longer to do it.

Usually if they’d gotten into this much of a ‘chick flick’ moment, this would’ve been where Sam would’ve pulled back to help his brother save face, or where Dean might’ve cracked some kind of joke that broke the tension. However, this time Sam didn’t have the strength or the control to play those games. He knew his eyes were watering a little when he looked up at his brother. “What if they come back?”

It was a childish whisper this time, a plea to make it better, and it was a sound Dean couldn’t resist. He tightened his hold on Sam’s neck and curled his other hand overo ne of Sam’s knees. “Then we’ll kick it in the ass, just like we always do.”

“‘M scared, De.”

Dean pushed up off the ground and Sam found himself being drawn in against Dean chest and held in a way that had never failed to make him feel safe. “You got no reason to be. I’m not gonna let anything else happen to you, Sammy. I’ll always look out for you.”

* * *

Inside, Castiel and Gabriel watched through the window as the two brothers found comfort in one another. Gabriel smiled to himself at the sight. He knew that he was important to Sam. He was his partner, his lover, his Daddy. He was extremely important to Sam and nothing was going to change that. But the relationship that the Winchester boys had was something different - something special. They’d been forced to rely on one another for a long, long time, and no matter what else happened in their lives, no matter who else was there, that bond would never change. Nothing, not even death, would be able to break it. They were soulmates, so intertwined with one another they actually shared a Heaven, something that was extremely rare.

Gabriel didn’t feel threatened by it. It was a part of Sam, just like everything else, and for that alone Gabriel would’ve easily accepted it. But the fact that it made Sam so happy - he could literally see Sam’s soul warming and shining under Dean’s attention out there - meant he would’ve found a way to deal with it, no matter what. Anything that made Sam happy like that was worth having around.

“They needed this.” Castiel murmured.

Smiling, Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for letting us come out here, bro. This was exactly what Sammy needed.”

Castiel nodded his agreement and smiled a little. That smile faded as they watched Dean rise and pull Sam in against his chest. The way he was cradling him, one of his hands cupping the back of Sam’s head and holding him close, how he was rocking ever so slightly in a gesture that both angels suspected was more instinct than anything else – seeing all of that made them ache for him. For both of them. Life had forced them to grow up when they should’ve still been children. It’d pushed them into roles that neither boy should’ve ever had to take on. Dean had given up his childhood to raise his baby brother. From what Gabriel knew of their childhood, Dean had taught Sam how to talk, how to walk, how to take care of himself, how to shave, how to do pretty much _everything_. He’d made sure the kid ate, even if it meant that he didn’t, and he’d always made sure that Sam was taken care of to the best of his abilities.

On the flip side of that, Sam had learned how to discreetly care for his brother in turn. He’d learned the times he had to be tough on Dean to make him rest, or the times to pretend to be a little weaker himself because he could use it to convince Dean to lie down with him a while and actually get some sleep. Gabriel had seen some of Sam’s memories; he knew how often the kid had lied about eating at school or pretended that he was full, or stolen a little something extra here and there, because he hadn’t been stupid – he’d seen how often Dean gave up food for him. Sam had learned not to complain about things because, yes, big brother would always try his damndest to make it better, but Sam didn’t want Dean to have to suffer for him any more than he already was.

Their relationship was a delicate balance of give and take that very few people ever took the time to see and understand. They were more than just insults and arguments and mockery.

Seeing them now, seeing this glimpse of a part of them that so few got to see, only made Gabriel want to take care of them more than ever.

Once they’d taken care of Sam and had him as okay and settled as they could – then, Gabriel was going to hunt down the bastards who thought they could touch his Sammy and nothing was going to stand in his way. He’d protect his flock with everything that he was. And from a archangel turned trickster, that was a whole damn lot.

But for now, Gabriel pushed those darker thoughts down, shoving them away until a better time. Because he could see a certain little boy that was more slumping than leaning against his brother now, and he could almost feel the exhaustion that was coming off of him. It was time to get someone home and in his bed.

There’d be nightmares, Gabriel knew. But he’d be there through each and every one of them. Sam wasn’t going to have to be alone. Not now, and not ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> If Sam seems blasé about things, don’t worry, you’re not the only one to notice it. Gabriel will too and he’ll do whatever he has to to make sure his little boy is taken care of!


End file.
